The Observation Deck

*** Please look at my post later in this thread.

When the fuck are you going to care about Lakewood residents?

In what has to be one of the dumbest most insane moves on the planet, which directly impacts every neighborhood and family--

in an emergency meeting last night, Lakewood City Council approved letting Lakewood bars and restaurants use their parking lots for additional seating. OK that doesn't sound so god awful, except this forces more parking into the neighborhoods.

What was also on the agenda was allowing restaurants to use street parking and sidewalks for enlarged patios, and side muni lots with parking meters.

THAT WAS AND IS INSANE. It would take what was a walkable and livable community and turn it into one big beer garden. What a pleasant walk down Detroit and Madison, dodging servers, customers and the like.

I get it, the city for some strange fucked up reason chose beer and food over the medical industry, but sincerely WTF?

Luckily Dan O'Malley, Tess Neff, Tristan Rader and John Litten voted to remove that part of it, deciding it might be good to see if it is even legal or safe to allow bars and restaurants to use ALL the sidewalks and ALL the parking spaces to enlarge their footprint. For the record, the Mayor was highly dubious of the idea.

Dining and sitting in the Detroit and Madison roadway.

Now doesn't that sound safe and fun?

What the F#$K Council, stop worrying about who pays for your election flyers and start worrying about those little things called residents who actually vote for you.

*** Please look at my post later in this thread.

Mr. O'Bryan thank you for posting this.

My hair is still standing on end from the shock of learning what was actually enacted...and now from learning what was avoided.

There’s already a restaurant in a Lakewood that is closed temporarily because someone in the place was exposed to someone with the virus.

I expect we will hear more places having to take a break.

I was thinking of commenting that Jim should use his editing discretion to ease up on the language in this, and then I thought, "no, that's exactly how outraged I am." F you council!

Jim O'Bryan wrote:

When the fuck are you going to care about Lakewood residents?

In what has to be one of the dumbest most insane moves on the planet, which directly impacts every neighborhood and family--

in an emergency meeting last night, Lakewood City Council approved letting Lakewood bars and restaurants use their parking lots for additional seating. OK that doesn't sound so god awful, except this forces more parking into the neighborhoods.

What was also on the agenda was allowing restaurants to use street parking and sidewalks for enlarged patios, and side muni lots with parking meters.

THAT WAS AND IS INSANE. It would take what was a walkable and livable community and turn it into one big beer garden. What a pleasant walk down Detroit and Madison, dodging servers, customers and the like.

I get it, the city for some strange fucked up reason chose beer and food over the medical industry, but sincerely WTF?

Luckily Dan O'Malley, Tess Neff, Tristan Rader and John Litten voted to remove that part of it, deciding it might be good to see if it is even legal or safe to allow bars and restaurants to use ALL the sidewalks and ALL the parking spaces to enlarge their footprint. For the record, the Mayor was highly dubious of the idea.

Dining and sitting in the Detroit and Madison roadway.

Now doesn't that sound safe and fun?

What the F#$K Council, stop worrying about who pays for your election flyers and start worrying about those little things called residents who actually vote for you.

Mark Kindt wrote:Mr. O'Bryan thank you for posting this.

My hair is still standing on end from the shock of learning what was actually enacted...and now from learning what was avoided.

I have just gotten off a long call with Councilman Jason Shachner talking about this subject, and he advises all to watch the council meeting and the housing meeting to see that this was not done in secret or without discussion and many changes in the thought process and final wording.

He also underlined that this is not a blank check to take your business outside. That all people would have to apply, and prove they can handle it, and they must also carry a $1 million dollar insurance rider. At that point they have to go to the Planning Commission to be approved. At that point residents could protest or voice complaints.

Councilman Shachner was also to give me examples where ideas like this have worked, especially in these emergency situations.

As against this as I am Councilman Shachner has sound reasoning examples.

We both agree that in Lakewood's Bar Based Economy we have to help Bars out. I have pointed out that the LO has always helped any bar and or businesses in Lakewood, advertiser or not. That with over 7,000 people in the food industry living in Lakewood, something needed to be done. We both agree on that as well.

Before I go off on a rant, I want to underline when I asked Councilman Shachner who matter most, he did not hesitate saying "the residents."

However, here we are with 138 places to get prepared food in 5 square miles. We just got fleeced by foundations and the last administration. We are about to get hosed by our former mayor and his construction buddies. And now the residents are going to have to take one again for the team.

I do not have a problem taking one for any of the small businesses that have given so much back to the community. This city is filled with excellent small businesses that give and give and give. They are our life blood and certainly restaurants and bars are the arteries.

If this goes ahead please make it temporary, please make it safe, please make sure we retain our walkability and family atmosphere, and please keep them out of the street.

Councilman Shachner, Council President O'Malley thank you both for your time today and your service.

Personally the four that slowed this down are still my heroes.

.

Did I miss the part where Shachner explains why he didn't respond on the Deck. Maybe because he has a prior commitment to a competitor based outside Lakewood?

Jim O'Bryan wrote:

Mark Kindt wrote:Mr. O'Bryan thank you for posting this.

My hair is still standing on end from the shock of learning what was actually enacted...and now from learning what was avoided.

I have just gotten off a long call with Councilman Jason Shachner talking about this subject, and he advises all to watch the council meeting and the housing meeting to see that this was not done in secret or without discussion and many changes in the thought process and final wording.

He also underlined that this is not a blank check to take your business outside. That all people would have to apply, and prove they can handle it, and they must also carry a $1 million dollar insurance rider. At that point they have to go to the Planning Commission to be approved. At that point residents could protest or voice complaints.

Councilman Shachner was also to give me examples where ideas like this have worked, especially in these emergency situations.

As against this as I am Councilman Shachner has sound reasoning examples.

We both agree that in Lakewood's Bar Based Economy we have to help Bars out. I have pointed out that the LO has always helped any bar and or businesses in Lakewood, advertiser or not. That with over 7,000 people in the food industry living in Lakewood, something needed to be done. We both agree on that as well.

Before I go off on a rant, I want to underline when I asked Councilman Shachner who matter most, he did not hesitate saying "the residents."

However, here we are with 138 places to get prepared food in 5 square miles. We just got fleeced by foundations and the last administration. We are about to get hosed by our former mayor and his construction buddies. And now the residents are going to have to take one again for the team.

I do not have a problem taking one for any of the small businesses that have given so much back to the community. This city is filled with excellent small businesses that give and give and give. They are our life blood and certainly restaurants and bars are the arteries.

If this goes ahead please make it temporary, please make it safe, please make sure we retain our walkability and family atmosphere, and please keep them out of the street.

Councilman Shachner, Council President O'Malley thank you both for your time today and your service.

Personally the four that slowed this down are still my heroes.

.

Dan Alaimo wrote:Did I miss the part where Shachner explains why he didn't respond on the Deck. Maybe because he has a prior commitment to a competitor based outside Lakewood?

Dan

I called him, as all roads lead to Jason and Tom. Jason has always been straight with me, hence he got the call.

I will say another troubling fact is that Nate Kelley is on our planning committee, I am amazed how many people from the big fleecing still are on committees and boards.

Troubling.

.

Patch 'em through to the Deck where more people will see it. And tell them to support local businesses, not just give them lip service.

Jim O'Bryan wrote:

Dan Alaimo wrote:Did I miss the part where Shachner explains why he didn't respond on the Deck. Maybe because he has a prior commitment to a competitor based outside Lakewood?

Dan

I called him, as all roads lead to Jason and Tom. Jason has always been straight with me, hence he got the call.

I will say another troubling fact is that Nate Kelley is on our planning committee, I am amazed how many people from the big fleecing still are on committees and boards.

Troubling.

.

Also, anything involving sidewalks and parking affects non-food-and-drink-based businesses, not to mention pedestrians.

Dan Alaimo wrote:Patch 'em through to the Deck where more people will see it. And tell them to support local businesses, not just give them lip service.

Jim O'Bryan wrote:

Dan Alaimo wrote:Did I miss the part where Shachner explains why he didn't respond on the Deck. Maybe because he has a prior commitment to a competitor based outside Lakewood?

Dan

I called him, as all roads lead to Jason and Tom. Jason has always been straight with me, hence he got the call.

I will say another troubling fact is that Nate Kelley is on our planning committee, I am amazed how many people from the big fleecing still are on committees and boards.

Troubling.

.

I'm a little late to the game here. But are you saying, that this idea of having bars/restaurants spread out into public areas, was spawned by Shachner and Bullock?

Schackner can justify and rationalize it all he wants, and discuss process. It's bad public POLICY. Bad in any circumstances, and now it moves a high density of people near to someone's home, and forces it upon pedestrians. "Hey let these pandemic people be closer to my front yard," said no one ever.

Among the CDCs latest guidelines for re-opening restaurants and bars is to “prioritize outdoor seating as much as possible.”

I have been vigilant about abiding by every lawful order since the outset of this pandemic. I’m of the belief that the rescinding of these orders is being done too early, but to the extent they are being rescinded statewide, we must do everything we can at the local level to protect workers and customers within the framework we have been prescribed.

Outdoor seating, while hardly eliminating the risk of transmission, certainly lessens it, and we as a local government are providing restaurants and bars more flexibility to maximize their patio options. Utilizing their own parking lots, waiving permit fees for outdoor seating, and relaxing our regulations for the use of certain public rights-of-way seemed to city council like reasonable accommodations. Each application for conditional use will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

As has been mentioned, the use of on-street parking as dining space was a sticking point for some council members. I personally felt it was too hasty for the city to endorse this without more consideration of public safety, impact on neighboring residents, how non-foodservice businesses would be affected, etc. Council and the administration are working to quickly gather and analyze this information before we proceed.

Council’s Housing, Planning & Development Committee - chaired by Councilman Shachner - and the Lakewood Planning Commission are to be commended for the overtime and quick work they put into thoughtfully devising these new regulations. Since the governor’s announcement that businesses could re-open in the state, we have been thinking about ways to maximize social-distancing protocols and facilitate safer operating practices like outdoor dining. The extent to which local government can alter our own regulations to facilitate safety is our priority.

Dan OMalley wrote:Among the CDCs latest guidelines for re-opening restaurants and bars is to “prioritize outdoor seating as much as possible.”

Council President O'Malley

Please read your opening sentence. Ok read it one more time.

When it comes to re-opening restaurants...

Not cities, not the health of a community. Oh my bad we are not suppose to mention health of residents any longer, as we are now the "healthiest city in America"

Dan I drove the streets last night and saw very little social distancing on patios, and even less in and around bars.

The Flats we a complete joke.

Is council and the city ready to pay the $130,000 average bill for COVID-19?

When mentioned to another elected official on council the response was, "Well no worry the city cannot be sued." Again I ask, this is thinking of residents?

You yourself said that you feel it is too early to re-open, but these council members deserve to be commended?

"Lakewood Planning Commission are to be commended for the overtime and quick work they put into thoughtfully devising these new regulations." really? After 3 months the plan was to follow a city in Lithuania and another in West Virginia that kind of did this? Let's do it? One simple question, did they have a hospital just in case?

What I hope... This was simply a poorly thought out over reaction to a small group of Lakewood businesses. What I hope it is not, An over reaction to a couple restaurant owners applying pressure on council members.

I know for a fact that there is not a single member on council that remember how bad it got back in 2006. When the new bar based economy was butting up against nice quiet family neighborhoods. Residents started to take matters into their own hands. It started with a old guy waiting on his porch with a baseball bat for people leaving the bar so he could protect his property. I talked with him and their neighbors, and started to calm them down. Then the residents started passing around an amendment to vote Ward 1 and 2 dry. That's right residents were wasting no time moving against the new bar based economy.

Now Dan, which is healthier for restaurants? Over crowding too early? Residents taking matters into their own hands including setting traps and violence? OR the residents taking the bar based economy to the ballot box? I am going out on a limb and saying none of them.

OR Lakewood takes the lead, and works on getting Lakewood tested, Lakewood clean, and then BRING back the businesses.

It seems every time Lakewood is given an opportunity to shine, our elected officials chose the easy way, and the less thought out way.

Commended? Hopefully we will be able to wait until election time to see those commendations come in. But I fear we will have to think of it long before that as family members and restaurant goers get sent off to the hospital to die alone. Or maybe Riverside Cemetery can break their record again for burials in a single day.

I cannot believe that Lakewood City Council is so cavalier with Lakewoodites health and future.

Oh wait, it was the elected officials that traded a $248 million dollar publicly owned asset and our largest employer for $1.00.

How is that decision looking today?

.

Jim O'Bryan wrote:

Dan OMalley wrote:Among the CDCs latest guidelines for re-opening restaurants and bars is to “prioritize outdoor seating as much as possible.”

Council President O'Malley

Please read your opening sentence. Ok read it one more time.

When it comes to re-opening restaurants...

Not cities, not the health of a community..

Jim I hope people would understand that the sentence I quoted directly from the CDC is a health guideline.

I’m not going to turn this into an argument over One Lakewood Place.

As a member of Lakewood's older population I am highly at risk like many others who post here. Why is there no testing capacity in Lakewood. What knowledge does council have about local contagion? What experts were consulted? This is not about One Lakewood Place. It is only about the pandemic.